“True.” I fidgeted in my seat, unable to find a position that felt comfortable for my knee. I pretty much needed to give up on the idea that a comfortable position was even possible.

Jesse was still looking at me expectantly. I sighed. “Look, when I was eighteen, something happened to me that wasn’t fair. But I chose to fuck around with the wolf pack. I invited all this.” I waved a hand.

A shadow passed over his face, and I was about to ask him about it when my phone began vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out and squinted at the screen, which seemed extra bright in the dimness of the car. It was Jack. I pushed the button to ignore the call. He was probably just calling to wish me a happy New Year’s, but he’d want to know what I was doing, and I couldn’t tell him.

I turned my head and saw Jesse regarding me with a frown.

“What?” I said.

“Do you ever get sick of hiding things from him?” Jesse asked.

“Yes,” I said wearily. “Do you ever get sick of poking me about how I live my life?”

“No,” Jesse answered promptly.

There was silence in the car for a long time after that.

Chapter 21

Around ten, Scarlett dozed off, and Jesse let her. He was used to the long hours of staring at nothing, and she wasn’t. Besides, she seemed like she needed the rest. The last few months were taking a toll on her. He saw it in the hollows under her eyes, the pallor of her face, not to mention the knee that was visibly swollen under her yoga pants. He suspected that her knee was worse than she was letting on, or maybe worse than she was admitting to herself. Maybe it had been selfish of him to bring her along. He could have watched Will’s house without her.

He considered driving her back to her van, but Jesse was afraid that if he did leave, even briefly, that would be the moment the nova wolf chose to dump the next body. Jesse didn’t want to miss the chance to stop him from hurting anyone else. And if the nova wolf was really so powerful, he would want Scarlett along to turn it human again.

Besides, she looked like she was finally resting now. After a while, he reached over and pulled the fleece pullover up to cover her lap better. His hand brushed Scarlett’s as he was pulling his arm back, and Jesse was startled at how cold her fingers were. He twisted the key to run the car’s heater for a while before leaning over to put his arm around her, pulling her close to him. She mumbled a sleepy thanks, tucking her hands under her arms for warmth, and he felt a rush of tenderness for her. Since first finding out about the Old World, Jesse’s experiences there had been so connected to his relationship with Scarlett that he forgot sometimes that she was technically human. She’d gone up against things that were more powerful than she was, and her very best weapon only leveled the playing field for a short time. It wasn’t fair. He pressed his lips to her hair for a moment. Then Jesse settled back to watch the entrance to Will’s house, leaving his arm still tucked around Scarlett.

Hours passed. The alpha had left his porch light on, but the little street was quiet, even on New Year’s Eve, and Jesse wondered idly if the whole street took vacations at the same time. He turned the car’s heater on whenever it got too chilly and sipped Diet Coke to keep himself awake.

By two in the morning he desperately needed to urinate and decided it was time to give up for the night. He wasn’t really surprised that they hadn’t managed to catch the nova, but he was disappointed anyway. It would have been nice to get a break in an Old World case. For once.

Jesse had already retracted his arm from Scarlett’s shoulders and was about to start the sedan when he decided he wasn’t going to make it all the way home without peeing. “Scarlett,” he said, and she made a sleepy annoyed noise at him. “Scarlett!” Jesse said again, shaking her shoulder a little.

“What?” she mumbled.

“I’m going to go . . . uh . . . well, I’m gonna go pee in the woods real quick,” Jesse said sheepishly. “Then we should go. He’s not coming tonight.”

“’Kay,” Scarlett replied drowsily. She hadn’t even opened her eyes.

Jesse got out of the car, leaving the keys in the ignition in case she needed to run the heater again. He circled Will’s house, heading for the trees. It’s too quiet up here, Jesse thought, as he relieved himself. And damned cold, for Southern California. He zipped up and stretched out his neck, feeling stiff from the long stakeout.

Because of the silence, Jesse had no trouble catching the sound of movement far off in the woods. He froze, his head still bent at an angle, and listened. It had just been a rustling, but fast, like someone had thrown a rock through the trees. Jesse had spent his whole life in the city and had no idea if this was a normal sound for the forest or not. Maybe a big bird?

But no, the sound was coming again, from somewhere lower. He thought of the nova, and his hand went to the gun on his right hip. He was carrying the nine-millimeter Glock, loaded with the silver ammunition.

Now the sound was even closer, and it seemed . . . spread apart. More than one animal? Jesse peered into the woods, unnerved by the total darkness. He took a few steps backward on the lawn, back toward the lights of the house. Then he heard rustling again, much closer now. Jesse lifted his gun and took aim at the woods. Whatever it was, it was coming fast.

A huge wolf exploded into the clearing, and Jesse almost shot it dead on pure reflex. It was charcoal-colored from nose to tail, an efficient running machine that didn’t even slow down as it took in Jesse’s presence. He had seen wolves at the zoo, but those topped out at maybe eighty pounds. This one looked to be nearly twice that, and his finger instinctively tightened on the trigger. But Jesse understood immediately that if he took a shot, it would miss. The wolf was just too fast. Besides, it was moving away from Jesse. He wasn’t in danger, and he couldn’t be sure this was the nova.